


That night

by aurorlaura



Category: Humans (TV)
Genre: F/M, Science Fiction, Season/Series 03 Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-07
Updated: 2019-10-07
Packaged: 2020-11-08 09:08:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20832938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aurorlaura/pseuds/aurorlaura
Summary: Laura Hawkins wants a few things from Neil Sommer. He ends up giving her everything.A filling-in-the-blanks fic for Series 3 of Humans with a bit of post-Series 3 at the end.





	That night

So it had been a date after all. Laura Hawkins hadn’t kissed anyone in awhile, but even taking that into account, the kiss with Neil Sommer outside the restaurant was one to remember. As Stanley bluntly observed, her body had other ideas than going to her own home afterwards. 

She felt it all the way home, letting the rocking of the car transport her back to the touch of Neil’s lips, his closeness, his proposition.  _ Christ _ , she thought,  _ I could do with a shag.  _

Laura fancied Neil a bit, sure, but this evening she had expected more information exchange and less action. Even so, Laura liked talking to and flirting with Neil, so for now she was happy to bide her time and keep working on him until he told her what she needed to know. 

That night though, he didn’t want to talk Commission business. On the other hand, in terms of personal information, she’d been told much more than she ever would have expected. She reckoned that Neil’s openness pointed to more than trying to distract her from her questions about Basswood. As the evening wore on and the wine was drunk, the prospect of getting into bed with this man seemed increasingly attractive as well as increasingly plausible. 

But Laura was resolved - no sex until she had more of a feel for where Neil stands on the issues, and preferably not until he indicated he was more likely to fall on her side of the fence he currently claimed to be sitting on. Ideally of course, he’d tell her everything he knew about Lord Dryden’s plans. She held her resolve, but only just.

Laura only realised when she got home that night, she hadn’t thought once of her husband. It was a good feeling.

  
  


Laura got an opportunity to give Neil a little shove in her direction on the coach back to London after visiting the Synth compound. As usual, he wrongfooted her. 

‘We should go out, celebrate’, she suggested, smiling, the success of the day adding to the warmth she felt towards him. 

‘Nah’ he replied. 

The knockback was a surprise, but hurt more than her pride. She was still digesting that fact when Neil spoke again.

‘We should stay in. You could come to my place.’ 

‘Ok’ she said, knowing she was agreeing to more than dinner. 

  
  


There he was, Neil’s baby. The framed photographs of someone who no longer existed were unavoidable when moving through the ground floor of his home. Later, Laura would tell herself she should have been more mindful that Neil was a grieving father. She couldn’t know how he felt; her own babies hadn’t died, much less at the hands of someone else. At the time though, she was aware only distantly of the sadness in this house. 

That distant awareness faded while she shared a drink and a laugh with a man who clearly wanted her, and who she wanted, and who might be beneficial to her cause. She was glad the food didn’t work out. She hadn’t really come to his house for his cooking. 

‘Do you agree that Synthetics deserve the same rights as us?’

Neil put down his glass of wine, and for the first time spoke almost unguardedly about the issues. He was attracting her more by the moment. They looked at each other, their breath quickening. He closed the distance between them.

This kiss escalated quickly. Laura felt both safe and excited, surprised by the passion of this sad, quiet scientist. His hands on her waist, then lifting her. She wanted him right here, in his kitchen, as soon as possible. He broke the kiss and met her eyes again, looking dazed.

His voice was quiet. ‘I don’t have condoms.’ 

‘It’s ok, I’m on something.’ She said with a small smile, pleased by his conscientiousness. 

He surged forward again, pressing his body between her knees. Her hands were restless and she wanted to touch him everywhere at once. His hands were deliberate. As his mouth moved to her neck, his fingers got to work on the buttons of her shirt. He pushed it off her and kissed and stroked her shoulders, her neck, her chest. She gasped and pulled his face back to hers, wrapping her legs around him, kissing him, unbuttoning his shirt as well. 

Amazing as this felt, Laura wanted to move on. She pulled back and reached down to unfasten his jeans. He pulled off his shirts, slid his hands up her thighs, and tugged at her knickers. She raised herself on her hands so he could pull them off, then his mouth was back on her neck and his hand - she groaned - he pressed the heel of one hand against her groin and stroked her breast with his other hand. Her head was swimming, and dropped back against the cupboard behind her. She gripped the edge of the counter to steady herself. She wasn’t in control anymore. 

Thankfully, Neil was. His hands briefly left her and when they returned, his cock was pressing into her. 

It was all she could do to wrap her arms around his neck, hanging on, moaning softly. He held her up with one arm on her back, and his other hand returned to her groin, a thumb pressing her clit. Her moans turned to something more like a sob. 

‘Come for me, Laura.’ His voice was both asking and commanding. She wanted to say yes, but could only pant. 

Then she was coming, hard, gripping him with her legs and pulling him further into her. 

‘Yes, that’s it, that’s it.’ He choked, stroking her head, continuing to thrust into her. 

Then he was gripping her hips, moving faster, small noises that were something like surprise coming from his throat. 

When he came, she felt the pulsing of him, his gripping of her, the press of his body and she was hit with another orgasm, this one drawn out and needing lungfuls of air. 

She sat swaying, with her eyes closed, her breath steadying. She was aware of him pressing a kiss against her face, rubbing a hand down her back, and stepping away from her. 

On her way to the bathroom to get tidied up, she was aware that she had a big silly grin on her face. 

  
  


For a time, Neil forgot about his loss. Sometime between taking hold of Laura’s waist and making her come, there was a moment when he was 100 per cent here with her, and not in his grief. But he hadn’t drunk enough to forget for long. His orgasm brought with it a flood of his regrets. He hadn’t kept his baby safe. He had failed his wife.  _ I’m sorry. _ His wife, his baby. _ I’m sorry.  _

He had to be alone with his grief again, and for that, he needed Laura to leave as soon as possible. He hadn’t cried in months, but he could feel it building and it was all he could do to hold that at bay while she was still here. His grief was joined by anger. Why did Laura Hawkins want him to sympathise with the Synths? He was doing ok hating them, blaming them. Without that, all he had was despair. 

  
  


Meanwhile, Laura was also returning to her normal self. She couldn’t stay the night, but she didn’t feel the evening was quite over yet. Maybe more talking, more wine, and she’d get more out of him - information, sex, either would suit her fine. As she reapplied her lipstick, she wondered, not for the first time, the extent to which she was using him. 

A minute later though, she saw him standing outside smoking and looking dishevelled and she was flooded with affection towards him. As she approached, she noticed he seemed distant, and that the night was cold, and the affection was joined by concern. 

She smiled at his back. ‘It’s freezing out here. How about we go inside and finish our wine?’

He didn’t smile, but did stub out his cigarette and turn to her. ‘Er, I’ve got a really early meeting tomorrow. You wouldn’t mind if we just called that a night, would you?’ 

Her heart rose to her throat then fell to her feet. If this was really happening, she’d never misjudged anyone so badly. She’d also never let a man treat her this way before, but she was too dumbfounded and hurt to tell him off. She walked away, humiliated and tearful. 

She was grateful at least that Stanley kept his commentary to himself until they were in the car. 

Stanley’s voice took on his particular tone of surprised concern. ‘Laura, you -’ 

She cut him off ‘- I’m fine, Stanley. I’m not ill. I would like to get home quickly though please.’ Her voice shook as she spoke. 

  
  


At the next Commission meeting, Laura dealt with her anger and humiliation by blanking Neil. For his part, she thought he looked sulky but she wasn’t in the mood to make a peace offering. In any case, if he did happen to feel guilty, that gave her the upper hand. 

She wondered if guilt was the reason he voted to support the new fine for people who attacked Synths. 

Laura wondered this again when the next day Neil appeared at her home with champagne. Joe answered the door and she was grateful for his presence as a buffer. 

‘He seems cheery.’ Neil said, apparently feigning a good mood. 

‘He’s my husband.’ She said, not joining in with Neil’s game. She wished she could feel triumph at having wrongfooted him for a change. 

Laura could see that he was feeling sorry, and she couldn’t risk one of her few allies, so she followed him outside. She told him off, he apologised, he again opened his heart to her and some kind of connection was re-established. 

She was conscious that the presence of Joe and Sam in the house meant that inviting him in for any any further reconnection was out of the question at this moment, and she thought that was probably a good thing. 

  
  


‘If you say anything, your children will die.’ Stanley’s statement was matter-of-fact, not a threat. And yet, she had seen his anger. It must run deep to still be driving him still in spite of all he had heard at the Commission. 

She could see that Stanley was determined to carry out his plan and the little she had achieved so far at the Inquiry wasn’t going to dissuade him. Laura always had hope though, otherwise she wouldn’t still be fighting. As Stanley drove them, she was both resigned to be going to her death, and thinking through any possible options for avoiding that outcome. 

In the end, and not for the first time, Mia was the miracle that changed everything. 

Entering the meeting room, Laura was vaguely aware of someone greeting her. Neil, of course, but she couldn’t stop. Her eyes desperately sought out Mia. She didn’t know what Mia could do, but Laura communicated as best she could with her eyes, glancing from Mia to Stanley. 

Mia was enough to stop Stanley, but the bombing still happened, and Mia’s arrest, and Basswood. 

As Laura was herded from the meeting room, she saw and heard Neil’s dilemma, and she saw that he had known all along what was coming. It seemed, in fact, that he was at the core of the Basswood project. 

When the Commission reconvened, she arrived without Stanley, without Mia, and without the certainty that had propelled her up until now. It turned out, she was also without a place on the Commission. Instead, a new face had appeared and was being greeted by Neil. 

Cut adrift, Laura could only focus on her new dual mission - getting Mia released, and finding out about Basswood. She turned again to Neha. 

Neha was kind, firm, and suggestive. ‘I don’t mean to pry into your personal life, Laura, but I think you’re more in a position to know about the details of Bassword than I am.’ 

Neha essentially told Laura that Neil was the architect of the whole contingency plan. Laura felt foolish for not having put this possibility together before. It wasn’t just a state secret, Basswood was very much Neil Sommer’s secret, put together in fear and hatred of Synths. And yet, it seemed that due to her influence he had wavered. 

She had to use much more influence on him. 

It was Laura’s turn to make an unannounced visit to Neil’s home. He was friendly, seemingly happy to see her, and he was again lying to her. 

‘They’ve probably replaced me by now. Any idea who it is?’

‘No.’ He said into his mug of tea. The lie was light, easy, and infuriating. He would deserve any pressure she could put on him now. 

It got ugly fast. 

‘You’re trying to get me to spill state secrets. They’re bombing our streets! You can’t be surprised it’s come to this.’

‘To what?’ 

‘Product recall.’ 

So, she got it out of him. The horror of it. Neil trying to justify it to both of them, and failing. Their night together had been a disaster, and she hadn’t turned him in time, but they had that connection and the result was that now she knew it all. 

He stood there in his socks, broken, exposed, and compromised in every way. She couldn’t take away his grief or his guilt, but at least she could admit to him that she was afraid too. And she could give him some small hope of something like redemption. 

Laura planted her seeds of doubt and left to ring Mia and warn her about the plans to electrocute Britain’s Synths in one single act of genocide. 

Later, when the power surges were about to begin, Neil carried on repeating lines he had written months before and still almost believed. He heard a banal brutality in the voices of those carrying out genocide on behalf of the state. What he heard and saw rose in him a despair and a fury that he had up to now turned against the Synths, all Synths. As they watched the surges make their remorseless progress across the country, Neil sensed the triumph of the Operational Director, and of Dryden. Neha was angry and frustrated. He himself, watching the orange eyes pressing their buttons, and telling himself it was too late, felt like he was falling. 

Telling Laura what he told her had been more than risky. He still wasn’t sure why he had done it. Now he saw he’d taken no risk at all. Laura and Mia were now targets in the Basswood plans. Neha was caught right in front of him breaking the Official Secrets Act and was dispatched as dispassionately as if she were a Synth herself. 

Neha thought it was worth the risk to expose Basswood. Three women were risking their liberty while he was safely in the inner circle. 

Laura had been right, of course. He hadn’t been carrying out a dispassionate scientific task. There had been something like revenge in his motivations. Willful ignorance too. Neha must have thought he was as naive as he once believed Laura was. 

They do feel pain. They feel everything. 

There was only one thing to do now. He felt the weight of it in his shoulder bag. He would show Laura that he had learned and that he had changed, and he would make some kind of amends for the part he played in all this. 

Neil’s last steps as a free man were taken to Laura Hawkin’s front door. 

  
  


Laura watched the news with her family. She told Joe about Neha’s arrest. It felt good having him here to share that with, and to look after the children. The children didn’t know that every Synth they had ever known and loved may now be dead. She could keep holding this from them, but the overarching plan - she still had to find a way to get the word out convincingly. 

A BBC producer had phoned earlier in the day and she had agreed to be the counterbalancing voice should they want one on the evening news. The problem was that she had nothing new to say and certainly nothing that was likely to make a difference at this stage. 

  
  


When the knock came, she felt a thrill of horror. It had seemed inevitable that Neha’s arrest would be followed by her own. She was grateful that Joe went to answer the door for her. When he looked back though, he didn’t seem worried anymore, but rather exasperated. She had seen that look recently...oh. 

  
  


Once again, Neil Sommer was at her door. If Laura thought she had seen him exposed before, this was a new departure. Those seeds she and Mia had planted...

Neil reached into his bag and took out a bound document. ‘This is Basswood. All of it.’ 

She was afraid to look, but couldn’t put it off. Here was everything he had told her and more. The more included information about her. She and Mia were making a difference after all. She felt stronger than ever. 

Joe tried to protect his wife, wanting her to stop fighting. They all knew that this was out of the question. 

Neil felt stronger too, especially seeing how she focussed on him, their connection strong in spite of her husband standing between them. All at once, he had complete certainty that he was prepared to leak Basswood publicly. 

‘I’ll do it. I don’t have a family.’ He said.

‘It has to be me.’ She told her husband.

She was both an unstoppable force and an immovable object. Both men were in awe of her. 

Laura sensed Neil’s complete change of loyalty. She was on Mia’s team, and now Dr. Neil Sommer was on her team. She took her place in front of the laptop, and connected to the live news programme. It was the last and only chance. She showed the cover of Basswood, being careful not to show Neil’s name. She explained the genocidal plan that was already underway. Basswood had told her that many viewers trusted her and would believe her. 

However, the interviewer challenged her. She felt control slipping away, and with it the lives of thousands. 

‘I’m afraid we can’t confirm the veracity of that document. We only have your word on that Laura.’

As she had at the Commission, Laura looked to her ally, who was standing across the room watching and giving silent support. She asked with her eyes - was he still willing? A slight nod - he was. 

The burden was now shared and her strength returned. She told the world that Neil Sommer was part of the resistance.

  
  


The broadcast made, the law broken, the truth released, there was nothing left to do but to say goodbye to her family and wait for the knock on the door. She tried to tell Neil to leave before the police arrived. 

‘Let you take all the credit? I don’t think so, Hawkins.’ He said with a smirk that she thought was probably the last one she’d see from him. That he could still joke made her feel a bit lighter and the warmth towards him returned. 

Laura was surrounded by her family, but he could only see her. He wouldn’t leave her to be taken away alone. But he knew he should at least let her say goodbye to her children in peace. They shared a look, knowing they still wanted each other. He went to smoke in the open doorway of the house, wishing he could at least kiss her goodbye, feeling the husband’s glowering after him. 

The police closed in just as Mia’s murder was broadcast live on TV. They were all at the mercy of the state. Perhaps, if Laura, Neil and Mia had succeeded, the state would step in to protect those Synths still living. 

To protect itself, the state arrested Laura and Neil. He watched her taken away to a separate police car. He found his concern for her took away any for himself. He wanted to be strong like she was. 

He needed his strength when he arrived at the station and was charged. ‘You’ll be charged under the 1998 Crime and Disorder Act with treason against Her Majesty’s Government.’ 

He tried not to let the shock show on his face. He’d broken the Official Secrets Act, of course, but treason? Realising Laura must be getting the same charge, a desperation came over him to protect her. She was a mother, were they going to try to put her away for life? 

He got one final sight of her. Arrested, charged, being put into the cells, they had one last connection. He didn’t regret a thing, and wanted her to know that. It was a relief to see her still looking defiant and he summoned up a smile. She did the same for him, just about. They were led on by the officers surrounding them. 

After the door was closed on him, Neil leaned against the cell wall, holding on to that last glimpse for as long as he could. 

  
  


Laura was less surprised to be charged with treason. She had discussed the possibility with her friend Michael, a QC who had agreed to represent her if and when the time came. The preparation they had made gave her some comfort. By now, Joe will have phoned Michael who would already be on his way here. She’d ask him to find the best representation he could for Neil as well. 

She thought all this while being led to the cells. The hostility of the many police officers surrounding her was overbearing and she almost looked forward to being locked away on her own. 

Then through the sea of uniforms she saw Neil, smiling at her with a braveness she hadn’t seen from him before. He was here because of her, but he was fine. Suddenly she didn’t want the solitude of a cell after all but to have a last connection with Neil. A hug, another kiss she’d feel from her toes to the top of her head. 

Of course, she told herself as the cell door closed behind her, even if they both got bail, they’d not be allowed any contact. In any case, she didn’t anticipate bail being a possibility. 

A bail hearing, however, was scheduled. Michael told her that Neil’s hearing was just before hers, and she and the QC waited in a small windowless room in the courts. The wait was particularly difficult because the longer it lasted, the more hope Laura found herself developing. If anyone could get her out of this it was Michael. She knew she shouldn’t hope, but she did nevertheless. 

She imagined walking out of the court, meeting Joe, being taken home where the children were waiting, and maybe just getting into a hot bath before discussing with Michael how far she could stretch her bail conditions. This train of thought was interrupted by all the lights in the room flickering off then on again. Somewhere outside, a loud thump was heard. She and Michael looked at each other, then stood simultaneously as the door of the room they were in was thrown open. There stood several orange eyes, Laura counted 5 visible from where she was standing. 

The Synth at the front of the group had pale skin and dark hair. He spoke with a soft, but insistent tone typical of orange eyes. ‘Laura Hawkins, you can come with us now.’ 

She glanced briefly at Michael, who raised his eyebrows, and they both left the room. In the corridor, the Synths surrounded them as if forming a protective wall, and moved off towards a fire exit. Laura’s mind was racing and she was having difficulty piecing together what was happening, but two things were clear - that this was a rescue, and that these Synths were not under official control. 

As they left the courthouse and stepped out into a carpark, Laura muttered to Michael, ‘What are the penalties for absconding?’ 

The QC looked amused, as he often did. ‘Just remember, as far as we know, these Synths are working for the Ministry of Justice.’ 

Laura gave a snort of laughter. Then she froze when she saw another group of Synths approaching who turned out to be surrounding Neil Sommer. He looked scared, and she pushed past her escort to join him. 

‘Laura, I was in court, and they just came in. Are we being rendered somewhere for enhanced interrogation?’ Neil’s tone was something between joking and terrified.

Laura looked to Michael who smiled at them and held up his phone. ‘It looks like the orange eyes are receiving instructions from an unknown source. Lord Dryden may have some uncomfortable questions to answer, but I suspect you two are more than safe.’ 

Neil only looked slightly less anxious and she squeezed his arm before seeking out the pale, dark haired Synth who had spoken before and asking, ‘So, what’s the plan?’

He turned to her. ‘Would you like to go home now, Laura?’ 

  
  


That night, Sophie slept in Laura’s bed. She read her daughter a story until the little girl nodded off. Laura stroked her hair and listened to her breathing. Then she picked up her phone and rang Neil. 

  
  


He answered quickly, sounding breathless and still anxious. ‘Laura!’ 

‘Hi Neil, is everything ok?’ 

‘I don’t know, is it?’ 

‘As far as I know.’

Neil exhaled. 

‘Listen, we’re having a meeting tomorrow. Michael will be here and you’re welcome to come too. 1pm. We’ll have lunch. We’ll need your expertise actually.’

Mattie and Niska suggested the meeting. All Laura knew is that it would be about ‘integration’ and was something to do with the baby. 

Neil sounded a little bit calmer. ‘Ok, I’ll be there.’ 

  
  


This time, it was Laura who answered the door. She stepped back, inviting Neil in. He moved slowly and stood by her as she closed the door. 

‘Are you ok?’ He asked with genuine concern. 

‘I’m fine. Actually, I think everything is going to be ok.’ She said, smiling, reaching out and giving him a hug. 

He held her tightly, smiling into her neck and feeling no regrets at all. 

  
  
  


  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> For months I've been writing Shetland fic and somewhere along the way my muse switched from Douglas Henshall to Mark Bonnar. He's really something. So I watched Series 3 of Humans and thought it was ace. I'd have watched Humans sooner if I'd noticed the awesome Katherine Parkinson was in it. Anyway, I hope the fact I haven't yet seen series 1 or 2 hasn't meant any major inconsistencies. 
> 
> I slipped in a QC at the end who it's prob. obvious is inspired by the great Michael Mansfield.
> 
> This is unbeta'd and edit suggestions are welcome!


End file.
